STOCKS | South Korea's Kospi Falls 4.0% to End Two-Day Winning Streak

South Korea's Kospi ended a two-day winning streak as semiconductor and auto shares fell. According to Sina Finance, the index closed down 4.0% at 6,562.72. South Korea's August inflation accelerated less than expected, but core prices rose at the fastest pace in more than three years, reinforcing the case for the Bank of Korea to keep policy tight. According to Sina Finance, consumer prices rose 3.1% from a year earlier in August, above July's 2.8% and below the median forecast of 3.2%, while core inflation climbed to 3.4% from 2.6% in July. JPMorgan said weak market sentiment and likely continued outflows from leveraged exchange-traded funds mean South Korean retail investors are unlikely to buy stocks on a large scale in the near term. According to Sina Finance, analysts Rajiv Batra and Mixo Das wrote that corporate buybacks have become another new buyer of South Korean domestic stocks, while buying from long-only funds has also started to recover. Societe Generale said South Korean retail investors are shifting from leveraged exchange-traded funds to semiconductor-related structured products, reflecting a change in investment tool preference rather than weaker demand. According to Sina Finance, strategists including Rajat Agarwal wrote that although inflows into single-stock leveraged ETFs slowed over the past six weeks, ordinary stock buying remained firm and structured product issuance rose.